Fayulu came in a close second to Tshisekedi, according to results that Fayulu lashed as a stitch-up.

Katumbi has his power base in the mining province of Katanga, in the southeast of the vast country, where he was previously governor.

In June 2016, a court in Katanga’s provincial capital, Lubumbashi, handed him a three-year jail term in absentia for alleged property fraud, with the instruction that he be arrested immediately if he set foot in the country.

He was also accused of hiring several foreign mercenaries to act as his private guards. He has denied both charges.

In the months before the presidential elections, the authorities also accused him of “usurping” Congolese nationality.

They said Katumbi had acquired an Italian passport and thus had forfeited his right to Congolese citizenship. Dual citizenship is illegal under DR Congo law.